GARDENS AND GUMBO: Celebrating Steve's Retirement Part 1

Connie Pearson
Apr 18
3 min read

Updated: Apr 20

Steve and I love Louisiana -- the food, the people, the Zydeco music, the culture, and the natural environment. We wanted to take a short trip "just because we could" when he finally worked his last day as a veterinarian, so we chose to explore some places in Louisiana that were new to us. Follow along in these blog posts for places we enjoyed and can recommend to you.

I'll begin with a shameless plug. My newest book -- Take the Drive on I-65 -- Where Every Exit Tells a Story -- will be out soon. It is a joint venture between Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association and myself that showcases the many points of interest along Interstate 65 from Mobile, AL to Gary, IN with special emphases for foodie travelers, those interested in history/culture/quirky places, RV travelers, those traveling with children, adventure/outdoor lovers, music/art/entertainment seekers, and those who love shopping.

New-to-us Eatery on I-65 South

With that in mind, we headed down I-65 and stopped for lunch at the Greenville exit (130) between Montgomery and Mobile. In terms of non-chain eateries, you'll find Bates House of Turkey, Wintzell's Oyster House, and Big Potato Company. This time we chose Big Potato Company -- Sandwich and Potato Deli. The title pretty much explains everything you need to know. Steve ordered a sandwich, and I tried the Chicken Teriyaki Potato (think chicken, pineapple, and teriyaki sauce). It was plenty for us to share. There is another location of Big Potato Company in Monroeville when you head there to explore all things "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Well Worth your Time on Hwy 90

We spent the night in Spanish Fort because of a meeting we had scheduled and began the trek to Lafayette on Friday morning. Our lunch stop (SO GOOD and extremely popular with the locals) was Spahr's Seafood on Highway 90 East in Des Allemands, LA. We shared the fried catfish with crawfish etouffee. We knew our eating adventure was off to a great start.

Don't Sleep on This Lovely Place

Since we had some time before we could check into our hotel in Lafayette, we went first to Jefferson Island to tour the Rip Van Winkle Gardens and Rip's Rookery in New Iberia, LA. The island is named for Joseph Jefferson, a stage actor in the 1800s who was best known for his unique portrayal of Rip Van Winkle (thus the name of his gardens and rookery). Because of time constraints, we didn't tour his home, but we did enjoy wandering through the gardens. Cafe Jefferson is a wonderful place on the grounds for lunch that I can recommend. I ate there several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rip's Rookery is located a short distance from the gates of the gardens and can be viewed free of charge. My favorite bird is the roseate spoonbill, so I loved seeing so many of those large pink birds nesting and roosting in the trees around the lake.

A Great Cajun Seafood Dinner in Lafayette

We drove less than an hour north to Lafayette, checked into our hotel, and had a wonderful dinner at Prejean's Restaurant (pronounced "pray-Zhahn"). There we shared a delicious seafood platter, which consisted of pond-raised catfish fillets, Louisiana crawfish tails, locally-raised and tenderized gator tail, & gulf oysters, then finished the meal with some awesome white chocolate bread pudding.